The Weltklasse Zürich, dubbed the “Olympics in one day” thanks to the array of stars that have competed at the Letzigrund Stadium over the years, is the perfect opportunity for world champions to prove their mettle and for those who missed out on medals to redeem themselves.
The final meetings in Zurich and Brussels offer double Diamond Race points, meaning that the winners in 13 of the 16 disciplines are still to be decided in Switzerland.
Retrospective…
Surprisingly, only one current IAAF Diamond League record was set in Zurich. Germany’s Christina Obergfoll has won the Diamond Race twice, the first time coming in 2011 and she sealed her crown with a huge 69.57m throw at the Weltklasse Zürich.
Zurich still boasts some outstanding meeting records, however, some of which have been set since 2010, the IAAF Diamond League’s inaugural season.
Habiba Ghribi is the most recent meeting record breaker, as she clocked 9:15.23 just last year, while Jamaican duo Yohan Blake and Usain Bolt ran 9.76 and 19.66 for 100m and 200m in a spectacular sprint double in 2012.
Vivian Cheruiyot sped to a 14:30.10 5000m in 2011 while Valerie Adams, who holds a number of IAAF Diamond League meeting records, threw 20.98m in 2013.
Of course, Zurich has been the scene of a number of iconic performances down the ages since its first edition in 1928, including world records.
In 1981, Sebastian Coe broke the world mile record, clocking 3:48.53 for the classic distance, having previously set the 1500m record in Zurich in 1979, while the USA’s Renaldo Nehemiah also set a new best in the 110m hurdles of 12.93 on the same night.
Indeed, the 110m hurdles world record would go on to be broken by Nehemiah’s compatriot, Roger Kingdom, eight years later at the Letzigrund, the last of four occasions on which the men’s sprint hurdles record has been set in Zurich.
American sprinter Evelyn Ashford clocked 10.76 in 1984, while spectators at the 1997 edition were treated to a distance double by two of the sport’s greats. Wilson Kipketer set 1:41.24 for 800m, a record that lasted 13 years and took the great David Rudisha to break it, while on the same day, Haile Gebrselassie ran 12:41.86 for 5000m, then the quickest in history.
Diamond Race Leaders
In some disciplines there are clear favourites for Diamond Trophies on Thursday, while others remain wide open.
Of course, Christina Schwanitz (shot put), Eunice Sum (800m) and Tianna Bartoletta (long jump) already have insurmountable points totals, meaning that as long as they compete in Zurich, they finish the season as Diamond Race champions.
Piotr Malachowski (discus) is perhaps the only other athlete breathing easily heading into the meeting, as he knows that a top three finish will seal the overall win and that only his compatriot Robert Urbanek can prevent him adding a Diamond Trophy to his World Championship win.
Elsewhere, however, things get complicated.
The only Diamond Race leader not lining up is Ayenleh Souleiman (1500m) and the narrow nature of his lead over Silas Kiplagat and world champion Asbel Kiprop means that it is almost certain that the trophy will be heading to Kenya.
There are duels in the pole vault (Nikoleta Kiriakopoulou v Fabiana Murer), 400m hurdles (Zuzana Hejnova v Kaliese Spencer), 3000m steeplechase (Jairus Birech v Conselsus Kipruto), high jump (Mutaz Barshim v Guowei Zhang) and the 3000m (Genzebe Dibaba v Almaz Ayana), but some events are almost impossible to predict with confidence.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is undoubtedly the favourite in the 100m, but an off day for the Jamaican great could see Blessing Okagbare-Ighoteguanor or Tori Bowie take the spoils, while Kirani James, the 400m leader, and Wayde Van Niekerk, the world champion, are the two most likely to take the win over one lap, but Oslo winner Steven Gardiner could prevail if his two more illustrious rivals haven’t fully recoverd from their Beijing exertions.
Greg Rutherford (long jump) knows that second place will be enough for him to add the Diamond Race title to his Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth wins, but both Michael Hartfield and Marquis Dendy will hope to bounce back from recent disappointments and are within striking distance.
Anaso Jobodwana leads the 200m raceby one point from Alonso Edward despite not having won a Diamond League race this season and will look to finish one place ahead of his Panamanian rival to secure the trophy. Nickel Ashmeade will now that a win and zero points for the both Jobodwana and Edward could see him repeat his success of 2012.
The two most open events are the javelin and the 110m hurdles.
Barbora Spotakova has a four point lead over Sunette Viljoen, but, in a season of surprises, six other athletes could overhaul the Czech world record holder if she fails to finish in the top three.
Likewise, the men’s sprint hurdles does feature the leader, David Oliver, but Orlando Ortega is just two points behind and, with anything possible, both Jason Richardson and Pascal Martinot-Lagarde will know that a win could see them take the trophy, as they are six points adrift with eight available.
